COMMENTARY: NASCAR changes messing with product

Jimmie Johnson has won six of the past eight Sprint Cup championships. Will NASCAR's recent changes prevent him from another?

The Associated Press

By Clark Leonard

Published: Friday, January 31, 2014 at 12:02 AM.

NASCAR is back to its nearly yearly tricks.

Racing’s governing body is trying to find the perfect format to generate excitement for its final 10 races to determine a champion. Naturally, that quest for a buzz seems to have little concern for a true champion.

Now, it has diminished its brand even further with its elimination rounds in the Chase. NASCAR will knock out four drivers each from title contention after each of the third, sixth and ninth races of the Chase, with wins in each stage guaranteeing that competitors advance. The highest finisher of the four remaining contenders in the finale will be the champion.

Let’s look a little closer. Say a driver is the best in the Sprint Cup series for the first 35 races, winning 10 of those races and would otherwise be in a dominant points lead. Then he has a wreck or a pit crew error in the final race. All of a sudden, the sport’s best driver has to watch a consistent competitor with no victories, or maybe three, lift the championship trophy.

If you ask me, that’s silly. People who complain that NASCAR is just “grown men driving in circles” aren’t magically going to become interested in the sport. And if they do, it will likely only be for one week. Are we so enamored with manufactured excitement in these times of instant gratification that we’d rather be entertained than see who’s truly at the top of their game?

I’m the last person to think Jimmie Johnson winning six out of eight championships is great for the sport. But if Johnson is that much better when a title is on the line, then it’s up to other drivers to catch up. Changing the system every year to try to help Johnson’s competition hasn’t worked too well.

NASCAR has plenty of great drivers: Johnson, four-time champ Jeff Gordon, three-time champion Tony Stewart, plus Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch, all former champions. It’s time to let them settle a champion with a consistent system in place.
People who don’t appreciate their talents and personalities and the excitement of the sport aren’t going to watch anyway. So it’s time to stop chasing them. It’s the kind of driving in circles that actually has no value.

Racing’s governing body is trying to find the perfect format to generate excitement for its final 10 races to determine a champion. Naturally, that quest for a buzz seems to have little concern for a true champion.

Now, it has diminished its brand even further with its elimination rounds in the Chase. NASCAR will knock out four drivers each from title contention after each of the third, sixth and ninth races of the Chase, with wins in each stage guaranteeing that competitors advance. The highest finisher of the four remaining contenders in the finale will be the champion.

Let’s look a little closer. Say a driver is the best in the Sprint Cup series for the first 35 races, winning 10 of those races and would otherwise be in a dominant points lead. Then he has a wreck or a pit crew error in the final race. All of a sudden, the sport’s best driver has to watch a consistent competitor with no victories, or maybe three, lift the championship trophy.

If you ask me, that’s silly. People who complain that NASCAR is just “grown men driving in circles” aren’t magically going to become interested in the sport. And if they do, it will likely only be for one week. Are we so enamored with manufactured excitement in these times of instant gratification that we’d rather be entertained than see who’s truly at the top of their game?

I’m the last person to think Jimmie Johnson winning six out of eight championships is great for the sport. But if Johnson is that much better when a title is on the line, then it’s up to other drivers to catch up. Changing the system every year to try to help Johnson’s competition hasn’t worked too well.

NASCAR has plenty of great drivers: Johnson, four-time champ Jeff Gordon, three-time champion Tony Stewart, plus Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch, all former champions. It’s time to let them settle a champion with a consistent system in place.
People who don’t appreciate their talents and personalities and the excitement of the sport aren’t going to watch anyway. So it’s time to stop chasing them. It’s the kind of driving in circles that actually has no value.